I’m left with nothing to do, so I go back to the tent, lie down, and think about what to do next.
“We still don’t have a concrete solution…”
I only threw Nidhogg and that bird into darkness prisons. If I die of old age, the same thing is going to happen again.
“Should I talk to Miss Sheryl? But I don’t think she likes the great spirits over here.”
I think she would’ve come here already if she wanted to help…
Well, she’s so sweet with Snow, that I’m sure she’ll help her.
I close my eyes for a bit.
This body doesn’t get tired, but the same doesn’t go for my mind, so before I know it, it’s night.
I leave the tent, and see the forest is draped in silence.
It looks like the stags haven’t made it back yet, the high elves are resting, and things are quiet over at Yggdrasil too.
I sit down and look up at it.
“I don’t know why, but I feel nostalgic when I look at it…”
I lived in Japan until I died from overworking and god sent me to this island, so there’s no way I’ve seen a tree that big before.
But I did already know about Yggdrasil.
“Do you want me to tell you why?”
“Eh?”
I turn around, and see Wil dressed in her witch outfit.
That’s right, I asked Reina to call her… But judging by her outfit, she’s not playing around.
“I was thinking it was serious when I was awoken like that, but it looks like it’s solved already.”
She says with a sulky tone, but not really mad.
“Thanks for coming.”
“Reina insisted. Kukuku, she made a promise when she said she’d do anything if I helped. Of course I had to come.”
“…Go easy on us.”
“I don’t know about that.”
Don’t say that with an evil smile.
Anyway, the situation really was dire, so I’m sure Wil came here because she was worried too.
The fact that she left Reina and the others and came here alone also says a lot. I don’t know what she has in mind for us, but I guess all I can do is take it to the best of my ability.
“Darkness prisons… I know you can copy anything, but that really is effective. But whether people can do it is a different story…”
She says with an exasperated tone while looking at the darkness prison holding the bird.
Maybe it’s easier for me to use them because Miss Sheryl used it on me directly, but I guess it’s still not normal.
“By the way, do you know why I get nostalgic looking at Yggdrasil?”
“Hn? Ah. Actually, I didn’t think you didn’t know. Your body is made of Yggdrasil.”
“Eh? Is it?”
I tilt my head.
Is it?
“Hn? You really don’t know?”
“I knew it was made especially tough by god, but I’m Yggdrasil?”
“To be more precise, you are linked to it… But whatever. No matter what you are, people of this island don’t change.”
She says as if hinting at something, and turns to Yggdrasil.
“…Is my presence bothering others?”
“Probably where this current trouble is concerned, but if you live for a few millennia, this is the sort of thing that’s bound to happen. Don’t mind it too much.”
This should be a big incident that would go down in history, but I guess her sense of scale is a little different.
I guess Suzaku and the great spirits would feel the same way.
“And get ready when you get home. Reina made a promise, and suffice to say, you’re involved too.”
“She made a deal with the devil, uh…”
Her evil smile scares me a little, but we have to take responsibility for asking in the first place.
“You’re going to have to work for it. But let me just tell you how to fix this situation.”
She says while taking a squirrel out of her pocket.
It’s bound by what looks like darkness string, and can’t move. But the way it’s wriggling is a little funny.
“Is that… Ratatoskr?”
“Yes, I found it on the way here.”
“But Brynhildr said it’s not harmful…”
“Not harmful? This thing?”
She asks with a nasty smile while waving the string bound Ratatoskr around.
It goes around like a yo-yo, screaming with anguish.
“Hum, this thing is what caused this whole problem.”
“Eh!?”
Wil then explains.
Neither Nidhogg or Víðópnir have a habit of attacking Yggdrasil right after awakening. They’re beings made by god to destroy Yggdrasil when it’s time to redo this world, but that also means that they should stay still unless given instructions.
“So they need instructions from heaven, and this thing…”
It’s going around so much that I can’t even see it anymore, but I get it.
Ratatoskr is a messenger from god, so it said whatever it wanted, and the other beasts believed it and attacked Yggdrasil, sapping its magic energy.
“…”
“Don’t be so mad, it was bored too.”
“And caused trouble for everyone to pass the time. Snow was gone, Reina was crying…”
Wil stops, and I look at Ratatoskr.
It senses my anger, and seems scared.
“Boredom kills the undying.”
“…”
“That kills you even if you live a long life. It was desperate in its own way.”
I remember her saying something similar before.
A thousand, two thousand years, maybe over ten thousand. Maybe for someone like her who has lived that long, what Ratatoskr did is very easy to understand.
“I’ll take it with me. It’s not going to do anything bad to you, I will make sure to train it so it stays put for about a thousand years.”
“…Okay.”
In a way, it’s like the button for a nuclear bomb. Maybe it’s better if it obeys Wil, rather than leaving it be, or sealed somewhere.
And it’s the safest place there is.
“Well… That was a nice chat, but they should be here soon.”
“Eh? Ah…”
Wil turns around, and I see Tiltue, Katima, Elga, Edinburgh, and Reina.
Reina looks serious. She’s probably doing everything she can, in her own way.
“Hahaha, in what world can a human gather such a fighting force!?”
Says Wil with a gentle smile, while levitating.
Yes, a regular human wouldn’t be able to bring along people like a divine beast person and an ancient dragon, or even the strongest human mage.
I’m sure everyone is worried about Snow, and came to help her.
“This is all I can do. Leave the squirrel to me, and do what you must.”
Says Wil before disappearing into the night sky.
In the end, she really is caring.
After seeing her off, I explain to everyone what’s going on.
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
Thanks for the treat.